Panic
by potterbite
Summary: Her plan had faults – more than she'd care to admit – but the moment she understood what the witch was trying to do, Emma knew she was going to be the winner. [Emma is up against the witch, who tries to take her heart. Killian does not take it well.]


When the witch got the upper hand, Emma realized it almost before she did; the world seemed to stop around her, going in slow motion as she saw the witch raise her hand toward her. Her plan had faults – more than she'd care to admit – but the moment she understood what the witch was trying to do, Emma knew she was going to be the winner.

Somewhere in the background, she heard people screaming her name and even though it should have, it didn't occur to her that nobody but her mother knew that her heart was staying put in her body, no matter how hard anyone tried to get it out.

She heard a muffled cry for "EMMA, NO!" before the world picked up its pace again and the witch was standing so close to her she could see the hairs that needed to be plucked from her eyebrows – which was too close – and smell her surprisingly fresh breath.

Even though Emma felt calm, a million different thoughts rushed through her mind the second before the witch's hand came to touch her;

A green skinned evil witch and you automatically think unhygienic, why is that?

Where the hell did they even get their nails and hair done in freaking enchanted forest? Everyone always looked so clean. Perhaps that was what the witch did first when she arrived at Storybrooke?

Then the witch put her hand through Emma's chest and attempted to pull out her heart while Emma just gave her a smug smile.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" And with those words she let her own fist meet the witch's green skin with all the force she had in her; the witch fell to the ground with a shocked facial expression. "REGINA, NOW!" Emma's voice carried over the crowd, to the other side of the town square where Regina snapped up her head in Emma's direction. A smirk touched her lips when she fired of a fireball; just as quickly as the fight had started, it ended with a deafening silence when the witch quietly burned.

Emma stood still and watched the space where the body had been; to her, death had never been the answer – except for Pan, who she'd wished dead on several occasions – but with this witch, it had been their only solution and Emma had acted on impulse when she screamed for Regina, knowing Regina would catch on quickly.

Slowly Emma lifted up her head to meet the eyes of those around her and to make sure everyone was there and okay. She saw her parents embracing, Henry running up to Regina, Neal giving Tinker Bell a joyful hug, and Gold going down on one knee in front of Belle. Emma averted her eyes as fast as possible (and tried not to roll them) because Gold reminded her of someone else. Except –

"David!" Emma walked up to her parents as he turned his head towards her and furrowed his brow. "Where's Hook?" She still used his nickname and saved his actual name for her mind and for when they were alone.

David turned his head at several different directions (as if Emma hadn't looked closely enough; she had to hold back a snort) before giving her a strange look.

"I don't know, the last time I saw him was just before the witch tried to rip out your heart." He shrugged, obviously not too worried about his mate.

David's words rang in Emma's head because they sounded very familiar, and she tried to recall where she'd heard a similar story before. Could it have been when she spent her year in New York? No, she'd remember that more clearly. Maybe she'd heard it at a party and –

Her train of thought stopped as a chill went down her spine.

There'd been a party a few weeks earlier – celebrating someone's birthday, Emma wasn't really sure since her memory still was a bit foggy sometimes – and everyone had had too much to drink.

_Neal accidentally tripped on something and fell over, cursing loudly; Belle ran over to help him up and when he got up, he said, "Thanks Mom." Thankfully, not that many people heard him because of the music, but Gold did and made a strange face and Emma was just about to say something funny about it when she noticed how still Killian was beside her. She turned to watch him and saw nothing; it was as if all life had gone out from his eyes, and a few minutes later he excused himself while Emma was still puzzling the whole thing together. She figured it was always better to go to the source, so she approached Neal. _

"_Hey, can I ask you something?"_

"_Because I'm so drunk, I should probably tell you no, but sure." Emma smiled._

"_What happened to your mother?"_

"_Oh her? My father ripped out her heart from her chest and made Hook watch him do it. Raw, huh? No wonder I'm so messed up." He seemed to give his own words some thought before he saw Tinker Bell dancing and went to her, laughing. Emma sat frozen as the name Milah kept popping up in her head; she felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. _

"I need to find him," she told her parents before she left and her mind went frantic as she tried to think of where he might go before she realized no question had ever been easier because he'd go where he always went; the Jolly Roger.

She found him on the floor of his cabin, breathing hard and fast with sweat running down his forehead. She'd been through it so many times herself she recognized the symptoms immediately as she sat down beside him.

"Killian, I – "

"You're not real, just my imagination, just my imagination, just my imagination," he began chanting, tightly gripping the sides of his head and rocking back and forth. Emma had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump in her throat before she could talk.

"No, I'm not, I'm right – "

"Imagination, imagination, imagination," he continued, breathing in at every word; he was getting paler by the second and Emma knew she had to slow down his breathing somehow, and so she did the only thing she could think of.

She slapped him across the cheek.

A moment passed where Killian's breathing stopped, and then another, until he blinked in confusion.

"Sorry!" Emma apologized. "I needed to shock you enough to make you stop breathing for a few seconds." He watched her for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Thank you lass, not that it should shock me that you hit me," he said and gave her a faint smile. "Are – "

"Yes I am alive, Killian." She put her hand on his cheek, just so he could feel her; the relief that washed over him was obvious and Emma smiled.

"How – "

"Okay, I never told you this because I didn't think it might be important but you need to know," she started, interrupting him again. "Nobody can take out my heart from my chest." He watched her in disbelief. "It's true; one of the perks of being the product of true love." She shrugged.

"You are bloody amazing, do you know that?" His voice was filled with awe and admiration.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily!" She squeezed his arm with the hand she had rested there, and he gave a weak laugh before he tried to pull her into a clumsy embrace; he kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love."


End file.
